Insulated monolithic hollow wall construction



G. A. MERRILL i INSULATED MONOLITHIC HOLLOW WALL lCQNSTUCTION Filed April 23 fz INVENTOR.

July 9,

GEOWGE A. MERE, L

'Patented July 9, 1935 'UNITI-lios STATES PATENT GFFICE MoNoIlrrnrc HoLLow WALI.

coNs'muc'noN George A. Merrill, Redwood City,A Application April 23, 1934, Serial No. 721,914

5 claims. (ci. iev-4s) against external heat 'and cold and conductive in-` ternally for heating and cooling. Other objects lo and advantages of the invention will appear in thel following Adescription and accompanying drawing. v In the drawing Figl a vertical section of the wall of a house constructed in accordance with my invention, also showing a concrete rst licor,

and partition wall.`

Fig. 2, is a horizontal cross section ofthe outer wall `ol." the house as' seen from the line il-E of Fig. l and showing a corner of the building.

2@ Fig. 3 Ais a horizontal cross section of the parti-v tion wall of Fig. 1 as seen from the linee-3 thereof. t

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing 'an optional commotion of the partition wall;

5 is an enlarged cross sectionof one of the .semicircular insulating ues used to form' the hollow spaces in the wall.

Fig. 6 is .a perspective view of a sheet metal` plate carrying a row of spaced tubes which form 3g the ues connecting the hollow wall cavities with the foundation ue.

Briefly described, my improved hollow wallconstructionv comprises a hollow wall, preferably of cement or concrete, and in which thehollow are insulated against sound, heat and water from the outside, yet provided with a relatively thin plaster or cement panellng on the inner sides of the spaces forming the wall ofthe room so that heat may readily pass through, al1

so that the rooms may be easily heated or cooled,

^ depending on whether hot or cold air is forced through the hollow flue-like spaces oi the walls from a plenum chamber under the lower floor.

A In the drawing 'l represents the outer wall foundation, here shown of concrete and provided with a relatively large horizontal duct or nume 2 formed in its upper edge and extending preferably entirely around the foundation. Any number of intermediate or partition ikoundatons,` 3, maybe cast, and on topof all a concrete oor 4 suitably '55 or the space between is excavated sumciently to form a plenum chamber 6, or cellar in which is located suitable air-heating and/or cooling apparatus, not shown.

Horizontal ume 2 is preferably formed in the upper /edge of the foundation wall and the Wallv ,est

permitted to settand after setting theform is removed, the open passageway thus formed is covered with a long sheet or sheets of galvanized iron l wide enough to straddle the flume, and which sheet of iron carries a row of sheet metal tubes 8 over openings in the plata/secured theretoas by ears 9 formed on the lower endof the tubes, so that the tubes project upward to form a series of llues` 9 extending through the oor slab when same is cast. Besides these-vertical tubes, other tubes Ill are arranged at intervals horizontally at thev base lof the ilume 2 to extend inwardly andopen to the plenum chamber, also similar tubes H or passageways in the interme- .diate foundations 3and tubes 9" through the oor slab under partition walls 12.

vThe floor slab is suitably anchored to the foundation walls by-suitable means, not shown, so as -to form an. integral unit therewith, and after the oor slab has thoroughly set and is strong enough the outer walls and-partitions are erected.

It is, of course, evident that suitable false' work must be used to support the floor slabwhile casting and setting. One of the principal features of my hollow wall construction is the use of light cellular hemicylinders I3 of heat and sound insulating material. These half cylinderswhich I use are a standard article in trade as used for heat-insulation or packing of large pipes such as furnace hot-air pipes, and are of a size pref-1 f.

erably of about an inch or more thick by about seven or eight inches fin inside diameter for the walls of an ordinary house. In detailed construction and material they may vary considerably, though preferably are about like the construction shownin Fig. 5 wherein there are several layers of corrugated asbestos paper or board M cemented between concentric sheets i5 of the same material, while for the outer diameter specially provide one or more layers of well tarred or votherwise water-proofed paper, asbestos sheet I3', or even other material such as sheet metal, also cemented in place, so that the half cylinders are proof againstpassage of moisture from the outside inwardly.

'I'hese half cylinders may be cut to any length,

but when used for pipe coverings are usually supplied three feet long, and which form convenient length for my purpose.

, In forming the outer walls with these half cylinders, I rst erect a suitable false wall of well braced boards on the floor slab as dotted at I6 about a half inch outside the desired line of the inner surfaceof the wall, and to this I lightly attach a wire mesh fabric I'I and coat the outer side with a layer I8 of cement plaster, applied in any desired manner. Before this `is hard I stand up on end a row of the halfcylinders I3 with their open sides against the plastered wall layer I8. These half-cylinders are preferably spaced about an inch or so from one another as indicated in Fig. 2 (the ues 9.

below being previously spaced so as to bring one within the hollow space formed by each half-cylinder) After the. row of insulating half-cylinders is in place I hook into the wire mesh I'I within the still soft layer I8 some short wires i9 and engage their outer ends with a vertical sheet of wire fabric 20, and thereafter place an outer form as of boards (not shown) along the line 2i to form the outer surface of the structural wall portion 22 which is thereafter cast from above.

The Wire fabric 20 may be a continuation of a similar sheet cast into the foundation walls and oor slab as indicated in Fig. 1, if desired. Also any number or arrangement of reinforcing bars may be additionally used as at 23, or used to the exclusion 0f the wire mesh 20. 'I'he wall is thus built up as desired and when set and the forms are removed a nishing coat of plaster 24 is given to the inside, and a heavier one, 25, of stucco, preferably of water-proof cement, is applied to the outside.

Where metal window frames are used, they may be suitably supported'and cast in place, but where wooden frames are to be used I cast a cement frame 2B in place by the use of suitable forms, and which cement frame is recessed at the under side of the top lintel with a downwardly extending outer lip 2I so that the wooden frame 28 may be canted under it and forced back into place when the cement frame is hard.l 'I'he cement frame may be reinforced as indicated and is formed with a shoulder 28' extending in back of the wooden frame at all sides. When forcing in the wooden frame a suitable plastic water-sealing compound is smeared in the joint rst. Door frames are similarly handled. The outer stucco coat 25 is returned over the cement frame to lock the wooden frame in place as indicated in the drawing.

On the extreme top edge of the wall I preferably cast a beam 29 suitably reinforced as by rods 30 so as to provide for lateral stiffness to the wall, and when wooden roofs are used I preferably channel this beam by inserting a wooden plate 3l to which the rafters 32 may be secured as by nail 33.

Flues 34 are also provided from the upper ends of the hollow wall spaces to vent under the roof space, while suitable louvers 35 are provided in several places, preferably at the highest points, and arranged for manual opening and closing from below by any suitable means, not shown, so as to control the circulation in winter and summer. p

The outer comers of the house may be cut off at 45 as indicated in Fig. 2 at 36 to save material as well as improve the appearance.

With the construction above described it will be observed that the interior of the house is both heat and sound insulated at all points by the heavy cellular` asbestos shells or half-cylinders forming the hollow spaces in the walls, also proof against penetration of outside moisture by reason of the waterproof outer layer I3 of the shells, yet due to the relatively thin plaster or cement layer I8, 24, heat readily passes through from the hollow wall spaces X to the room or vice versa, so that the rooms may readily be warmed or cooled, depending on whether hot or cold air or other gases are circulated through the walls from the plenum chamber 6.

The circulation of hot or cold air opens to the roof space and which may be open or closed, depending on the climatic conditions to be met, or it may be controlled by one or more louvers 35 as heretofore mentioned.

The partition walls I2 vary somewhat from the outer wall construction in having the halfcylinders turned consecutively in opposite directions as shown in Figs. 3 or 4. This arrangement provides both rooms with a hollow wall having every other hollow space covered with a thin heat conductive layer of cement or plaster 31 so that both rooms at opposite sides of the partition wall may be heated or cooledby circulating hot or cool air or gases through the hollow walls, while at the same time the partition walls are sound-insulated by the thick cellular shells of the half-cylinders I3 which in this case need not be water-proofed as when used in the outer walls, nor need they be of heat-insulating material, though it is better to have them heatinsulating so that either room may be warmed or cooled separately by suitably controlling the flow .of hot or cold air through the respective halfcylinders facing either way.

In erecting the partition walls, no false work or forms need be used, as the half-cylinders may be placed in a row as shown in either Fig. 3 or Fig. 4, wire fabric 38 stretched across both sides, and preferably' cross-tied as at 39 in Fig. 3, the outer sides of both fabric sheets covered with a layer of cement plaster, or hardwall, and when set the spaces 39 between the insulating shellslled with concrete, reinforced as at 40 if desired. In Fig. 4 the insulating shells are arranged in touching relation and preferably secured together as by pins, clips or stove bolts, 4I, and the wire fabric 38 secured to the bolts also as at 42. In this case the partition will be rigid enough'for most purposes without additional filling of cement or concrete.

In the drawing a house with only one floor is shown, and this is of concrete, but it is evident that any number of floors may similarly be provided, either of concrete or other material, or the concrete oor may additionally be covered with any material desired.

The construction above described may of course be varied considerably in detail, such for instance as the insulating shells i 3 may be varied somewhat in shape, though I prefer the half-cylinderl as it yields a concrete wall composed of a plurality of arched sections as shown in Fig. 2 which contributes to great strength and rigidity with minimum use of concrete materials. Also, while I prefer that the shells be of built-up cellular construction, it is evident that if otherwise of good heat and sound-insulating properties, they might serve the purpose. Also, the concrete or cement may be placed by means of a cement gun instead of pouring, if desired. Other details may similarly be varied within the spirit of the invention and scope of my appended claims.

I claim:-

1. Hollow concrete building wall construction in which the wall is provided with a plurality of relatively small adjacently disposed, vertically arranged flue-like hollow spaces within it, said spaces each dened by a heat-insulating shell covering the side of the space directed toward the outer side of the wall, and a relatively thin heatconductive slab covering the space on the inner or room side of the wall.

2. Hollow concrete building wall construction in which the wall is provided with a plurality of relatively small adjacent'ly disposed, vertically arranged flue-like hollow spaces within it, said spaces each dened by a heat-insulating shell covering the side of the space directed toward the outer side of the Wall, and a relatively thin heat-conductive slab covering the space on the inner or room side of the wall, said flue-like hollow spaces being vented at their upper ends, and means connecting the hollow nue-like spaces at their lower ends for the introduction of tempered gases.

3. A building wall formed of cementitious material provided with a plurality of relatively ,small adjacently disposed vertically arranged ue-like hollow spaces within it, some of said spaces defined each by a heat-insulating shell covering `the side of the space directed toward one side of the wall and a heat-conductive slab covering the space directed toward the opposite side of the wall, and others of said spaces being reversed as regards their insulated and conductive sides.

4. A concrete building wall provided with a plurality of relatively small adjacently disposed, vertically arranged ue-like hollow spaces within it, said spaces each defined by a trough-like shell with its open side covered by a relatively thin heat-conducting wall slab forming the inner wall of a room.

5. A concrete building wall provided withY a plurality of relatively small adjacently disposed, vertically arranged liuc-like hollow spaces within it, said spaces each defined by a substantially heini-cylindrical, heat-insulated trough-like shell waterproofed on its convex surface, and with its open side covered by a relatively thin heat-conducting wall slab forming the inner Wall of a room.

GEORGE A. MERRIIL. 

